State of the Union: Interview With U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra

Interview

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Well, they certainly have access today, and we intend to do everything to make sure it's available to them not just in a week, but moving forward, period, because mifepristone is one of the safest and most effective medicines that we have seen over the last 20 years to help women with their health care, especially abortion care.

So it is incumbent upon us as a country to make sure women have safe and effective medication available to them.

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Well, we have already filed an appeal of this court's ruling. One judge in one court in one state turned upside down the FDA's approval process for safe and effective medications.

We have to go to court and seek an appeal.

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So, that's -- Dana, that's big speculation.

First and foremost, when you turn upside down the entire FDA approval process, you're not talking about just mifepristone. You're talking about every kind of drug. You're talking about our vaccines. You're talking about insulin. You're talking about the new Alzheimer's drugs that may come on.

If a judge decides to substitute his preference, his personal opinion for that of scientists and medical professionals, what drug isn't subject to some kind of legal challenge? So we have to go to court.

And, for America's sake and for women's sake, we have to prevail in this.

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Yes or no, we want the courts to overturn this reckless decision. Yes or no, we want yes that women continue to have access to a drug that's proven itself safe.

Millions of women have used this drug around the world, more than 60 countries.

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I got to believe that, Dana, an appeals court, the Supreme Court, whatever court has to understand that this ruling by this one judge overturns not just access to mifepristone, but possibly any number of drugs.

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That's speculation that I think is not worth engaging in.

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Everything is on the table. The president said that way back when the Dobbs decision came out. Every option is on the table.

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Good chance.

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If the role of judges of justices is to apply the law to the facts and the evidence, the facts and the scientific evidence are that mifepristone is not just safe, but it's effective and it was properly approved.

And so I don't care who the nine justices are on the Supreme Court or any court of appeal. They should be able to discern the difference between inserting their personal judgment and using the facts and evidence to make a legal ruling.

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I do. But I'm not on the courts. And, certainly, I'm not on that court where that Texas judge decided to turn upside down the whole process that FDA has used for years for many drugs.

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This is not America. What you saw by that one judge in that one court, in that one state, that's not America.

America goes by the evidence. America does what's fair. America does what is transparent and we can show that what we do is for the right reasons. That's not America.

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Thank you.

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Happy Easter.

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